At least I beleive it was The Turtles who sang the song "Everyone knows it's Windy".
Off today (whew) but booked up every other day until May 5th
Just thought I'd post our experience from opening weekend.
Nobody needs to be told it was windy and a cold front came through just before opening day
The week prior to Opening, we had been scouting waters around Deale. We had friends who hit the waters between Matapeake and Bloody Point and were successful picking up several fish with only 6 rods. We scouted waters further south and struggled with only a fish or two.
We had Captain Charlie Schneider (from Tilghman) onboard and he verified that the Captains out of Tilghman were struggling down south as well
.
So; with this information, we decided to head north out of Deale on Opening Day
We knew it was going to be busy in that area
. Our plan was to get there early, drop lines pick up four or five fish and troll during the busy part of the day for the last one or two. Even the best plans fail on occassion
I put out our 22 rod spread in choppy conditions. It was blowing mostly NW with mainly out of the West. I decided we could get away with our scotty clips and save the rubberbands for worse conditions
For the most part, the clips held fine. It wasn't the wind I had to worry about, it was the boat traffic. Occassionally, we had to make emergency manuvers to avoid other boats. When the captain increased speed and turned sharply, the outside board would speed up so much, that it would pop the last clips down the line
When I'm at the helm of my personal boat and in heavy traffic trolling, I like to "send a message" to the other boat headed in my direction. How do I do this, I turn the wheel enough to move my bow significantly to either starboard or port. This way the other captain (if paying attention), will know exactly where I am going. I don't really rely on whether I have the right away and therefore am going to hold my course come hell or high water. I assume the other captain doesn't know the "rules of the road" and is looking for a sign as to what I am going to do
If we are ever heading bow to bow, you will definately know which direction I'm turning
Anyway; we marked plenty of fish and bait in the area but couldn't make them bite. It was frustrating to say the least. We ended day one with 3 fish in the box, one 26 inch fish (where the heck did he come from), and four knockdowns that didn't come tight (what was that all about?).
Day two was even more entertaining
We left Deale and found 4 to 5 foot waves out of the north. I had reports of a 36 Judge that stuffed his bow into several waves and had "green water" come up over the windows. Last time I checked, Bill Judge doesn't build any submarines
. We, thankfully were in a 46ft Markley and even it pounded a wave or two. I was watching from in the cabin and you could watch about every 5th or 6th wave was a big roller. One of the waves actually lifted Captain John out of his helm seat and his head hit the roof
It was rough!!
The winds layed down to the point where we had small whitecaps in the late morning. This allowed us to explore a more E/W pattern and we picked up two fish.
Most of our fish (to few to see a real pattern) have come off the lighter lines. We have had most success off the boards (even a four oz. single back 5 bars produced) and my 6 pack back 200 ft with no weight has produced fish
.
This is certainly not typical of opening weekend, but you fish whatever weather you have. In a 46 ft boat, we can get out in most weather. In a personal boat, pick your days or be bold and cancel your trip if you have to. Two fishermen lost their lives off Point Lookout this weekend and I believe 4 were rescued off the same boat.
Live to fish another day if the weather is that bad.
I wish I had better intel for you. I really don't know what to say. Those who fished down south (below Breezy) didn't set the world on fire either. I understand Solomons didn't produce tons of fish either. I don't know if the fish are still coming in, up in the rivers spawning, or just shut down after the cold front.
Be safe, fish hard, good luck catching.
5th (Marty)
Patent Pending
Herrington Harbor North
The Turtles
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